Pin-seal.



M. A. PLATT.

PIN SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED 00:1. a, 1913.

1,125,915. Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

)9. Val? UNITED STATES FATENT @FFIQE.

MAURICE A. PLATT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 MERCHANTS SAFETYEQUIPMENT CORPORATION.

PIN-SEAL.

Application filed October 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE A. PLATT, a citizen of Great Britain,residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pin-Seals, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a pin seal for attachingidentification or sale tickets or tabs to goods of a penetralole nature.

Many forms of goods, such as hats, cloaks and wraps of different kindsare delivered to prospective purchasers 0n approval and are sometimesworn by such parties and thereafter returned to the merchant. It hasbeen found that certain people make a practice of ordering expensivegowns and cloaks and hats sent on approval for the express purpose ofwearing them on some special occasion and then returning them instead ofpurchasing the articles, the idea being that the party has free use ofthe article for wearing purposes on one special occaslon.

It is therefore the object of my invention to seal a ticket, price slipor identification tab upon the article which is sent for approval, in aconspicuous place thereon, and

in a manner so that it cannot be removed without destruction of themeans whereby the ticket or tab is attached. The prominence of such aprice tab on articles sent for approval would deter the purchasers fromwearing the same and thereby insure the merchant against loss to thegoods of that peculiar appearance of newness which characterizes goodsbefore they have been worn. \Vith the device of my invention, a merchantcould feel perfectly free to send the most expensive goods on approvalknowing full well that they could never be worn in public.

The device of my invention will be more fully described in connectionwith the ac companying drawing and will be more particularly pointed outand ascertained in and by the appended claims.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form ofmy pin seal showing the same in an open position. Fig. 2 is aperspective view thereof when Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915..

Serial No. 794,228.

the same is sealed in a closed position. Fig.

of equal length. For convenience of designation, I will refer to the leg3 as the anchoring end and the leg 4 as the pin end. The terminal of thepin end is pointed, as indicated at 5, to facilitate penetration of aprice tab and an article of penetrable material, as indicated at 6 and7, respectively. The terminal 5 of the pin end is curved, as indicatedat 8, the curved portion extending some considerable distance from thepoint of the pin terminal. The anchoring end 8 has a terminal 9 which iscurved toward the curved pin end terminal so that if the pin andanchoring end were brought into close relation as shown in Fig. 2, theywould form a substantillv continuous loop. I preferably form the pinstructure of resilient wire which mav be tempered so that the parts willnormally assume the position shown in Fig. 1 when not under compresslon.

I employ a sealing shield, which may be of sheet metal. and which isindicated as a whole at 10. In its initial form, the shield is providedwith an open entrance end 11.. the other end 12 being closed. Suchshield comprises side walls 13, which are initially flat and which liein parallel relation and are connected by transversely roundedlengthwise edge walls, or wall portions 14 and 15. The closed end 12comprises an edge wall which is rounded and which merges into thelengthwise edge walls 14 and 15, preferably in a manner to conform toand permit the curved ends 8 and 9 to seat against the curved andtransversely rounded edge wall portions 12, 14 and 15, the straightportions of the anchoring and ticle and back through the price tab, as

shown in Fig. 3, and then the ends 3 and 4 will be flexed so as toretract the pin -point 5' and telescope the same into the shieldendwise, intothe position shown in Fig. 2. After the pin end has beensecured in the shield, as just described, the shield may be placed undercompression by a suitable implement so as to compress the side walls ofthe shield about the pin end and anchoring end in the manner shown inFig. 2. If desired, the initial or any commercial insignia oftheestablishment may be incorporated in the device for sealing the shieldso as to appear on the surface, as indicated in Fig. 2

, wherethe letter l/V is shown. It will thus be seen that when both endsare secured and the shield is sealed, it will'be impossible to withdrawthe pin end so as to detach the tab except by destroying the seal pin orcutting the same. The side walls 11 will preferably'be compressed inflat abutting relation so as to completely surroundthe inserted endportions of the pin whereby the curved terminalsthereof will lock thepinagainst withdrawal movement from the shield.

In Fig. 1 1 have shown a modified form of the invention, wherein theshield 16 is cut away: as at 17 and one margin 18,0f the cut awayportion. is folded about, the anchoring end 19 of the pm. In this formthe cut away portion 17 forms an entrance passage for projection of thepointed end 20, laterally into the shield 16. In this form of theinvention the terminal of the end 19 is curved, as indicated at 21, butthe pin end is continuously straight. In this form the shield willbesealed upon the ends of the pin,'in the manner similar, to thatdescribed in connection with the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I desireto point out that one of the features of my invention whichdistinguishes the same from seals for doors and other purposes is thesharp pointed pin end terminal whereby my improvedpin can be insertedthrough even the most costly and delicate articles and thereafter besealed thereon, without in any way defacing such articles, and' I desireit to be understood that the device ormy invention'is essentiallyadapted for sealing attachment to'articles of a'penetrable nature.

It will be seen that in the preferred construction I provide anchoringand pin ends having straight and curved portions which are locked in theshield by collapsing the walls of the shield about said straight andcurved portions, thereby effectively anchoring the pin to the shield.

While it would be easy to remove the ticket by tearing the same off fromthe pin, such removal would be a notice to the merchant that the goodssent on approval had been used instead of being thoroughly inspected andtherefore it will be seen that the device of my invention affords aneffective deterrent against any tampering with the sealed ticket.

While I have herein shown and described specific forms of my invention,1 do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as theclaims may import.

I claim 1. As a means for sealing sale or identification tickets onpenetrable goods, a hollow sheet metal shield shaped from a single blankof metal to have one end thereof entirely open andthe opposite endclosed, a length of wire bent upon itself to form an anchoring end and apenetrating end to be received through the .penetrable goods and thesale or identification ticket and all of said parts so formed andarranged that the ends of the wire may be inserted withinv the open endof the shield and the sides of the shield between the disposition of theends therein bent down within the confines of these ends to draw thesheet metal of the shield around the wire and to secure said endsagainst removal from the shield.

2. A seal comprising a hollow sheet metal shieldhaving' a closed roundedend and the opposite end thereof left open, a length of wire bent uponitself to form anchoring and penetrating ends and curved on these endsto fit the rounded ends of the shield, said curved ends adapted to beentered in said shield and to lie in concentric relation with respect tothe curved walls thereof. and the sides of said shield adapted to bebent down between the curved ends of the wire to close said open end andto draw the metal of the shield around said curved ends and secure theseends against removal from the shield.

3. As a means for sealing sale or identification tickets on penetrablegoods, a. hollow sheet metal shield provided with one open end andhaving the side thereof adjacent this open end cut away to form a slot,a length of wire bent upon itself to form anchoring and pin ends havingbent terminals to fit and rest against the closed end of the hollowshield, and all of said parts soformed' that the anchoringends may beinserted'within the shield and a portion of the side of the shieldadjacent said slot bent In testimony whereof I aflix my signaturefliGIGZlIOgHd to secure the ancilorirlgg end in in presence of twoWitnesses. p ace an the penetrating en to e inserted Within the shieldand to have the metal MAURICE PLATT' 5 of the side thereof bent andclamped around Witnesses:

this end to secure the penetrating end I'ig- CHARLES KALLMEYER, idly inplace. ALFONS J UNGMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, "Washington, D. G.

